BEIJING — About 18 million square meters of school buildings are under construction to expand higher vocational education, and an additional 30 million square meters of buildings are needed in the next two years, said the Ministry of Education on May 8.

The State Council approved a plan in late April to expand the enrollment of higher vocational colleges by 1 million this year, and every student should have 24 square meters of floor space on average according to the requirements of the Ministry.

“We will work with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance to earmark special funds for expansion of school facilities,” said Lou Xuqing, an inspector at the Ministry of Education.

There are 9.7 million students in 1,418 higher vocational colleges in China now, he said, adding that the country plans to add 121 new higher vocational colleges during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), and about half of the colleges have been registered.